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The Historical Jesus in Recent Research
The past two or three decades have witnessed significant activity in research on the Jesus of the Gospels and history. In fact, there has been such a plethora of publication on such a wide variety of facets of this issue that it is difficult to keep pace with the rate of publication. In this volume, Dunn and McKnight have collected and provided introductions to a wide cross-section of essays on the topic, ranging from classic essays by the likes of Bultmann, Cadbury, and Schweitzer to the most recent investigations of Horsley, Levine, and Wright. This volume will be a very useful book for courses and seminars on Jesus or the historical Jesus, because it draws together in one place a wide variety of perspectives and approaches to the issues. Authors represented P. S. Alexander, D. C. Allison, P. W. Barnett, M. J. Borg, R. Bultmann, H. J. Cadbury, P. M. Casey, G. B. Caird, B. Chilton, C. E. B. Cranfield, J. D. G. Dunn, R. A. Horsley, J. Jeremias, M. Kähler, W. G. Kümmel, E. E. Lemcio, A.-J. Levine, G. Luedemann, J. P. Meier, B. F. Meyer, R. Morgan, J. A. T. Robinson, E. P. Sanders, A. Schweitzer, K. R. Snodgrass, G. N. Stanton, P. Stuhlmacher, G. Theissen, N. T. Wright.
Hardcover
Published June 30, 2005
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About the author
James D.G. Dunn
130 books90 followersJames D. G. ("Jimmy") Dunn (born 1939) was for many years the Lightfoot Professor of Divinity in the Department of Theology at the University of Durham. Since his retirement he has been made Emeritus Lightfoot Professor. He is a leading British New Testament scholar, broadly in the Protestant tradition. Dunn is especially associated with the New Perspective on Paul, along with N. T. (Tom) Wright and E. P. Sanders. He is credited with coining this phrase during his 1982 Manson Memorial Lecture.
Dunn has an MA and BD from the University of Glasgow and a PhD and DD from the University of Cambridge. For 2002, Dunn was the President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the leading international body for New Testament study. Only three other British scholars had been made President in the preceding 25 years.
In 2005 a festschrift was published dedicated to Dunn, comprising articles by 27 New Testament scholars, examining early Christian communities and their beliefs about the Holy Spirit. (edited by Graham N. Stanton, Bruce W. Longenecker & Stephen Barton (2004). The Holy Spirit and Christian origins: essays in honor of James D. G. Dunn. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2822-1.)
Dunn has taken up E. P. Sanders' project of redefining Palestinian Judaism in order to correct the Christian view of Judaism as a religion of works-righteousness. One of the most important differences to Sanders is that Dunn perceives a fundamental coherence and consistency to Paul's thought. He furthermore criticizes Sanders' understanding of the term "justification", arguing that Sanders' understanding suffers from an "individualizing exegesis".
Dunn has an MA and BD from the University of Glasgow and a PhD and DD from the University of Cambridge. For 2002, Dunn was the President of the Studiorum Novi Testamenti Societas, the leading international body for New Testament study. Only three other British scholars had been made President in the preceding 25 years.
In 2005 a festschrift was published dedicated to Dunn, comprising articles by 27 New Testament scholars, examining early Christian communities and their beliefs about the Holy Spirit. (edited by Graham N. Stanton, Bruce W. Longenecker & Stephen Barton (2004). The Holy Spirit and Christian origins: essays in honor of James D. G. Dunn. Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans Pub. Co. ISBN 0-8028-2822-1.)
Dunn has taken up E. P. Sanders' project of redefining Palestinian Judaism in order to correct the Christian view of Judaism as a religion of works-righteousness. One of the most important differences to Sanders is that Dunn perceives a fundamental coherence and consistency to Paul's thought. He furthermore criticizes Sanders' understanding of the term "justification", arguing that Sanders' understanding suffers from an "individualizing exegesis".
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November 9, 2013
Let's get right to it and disregard the need for a catchy introduction.
James Dunn and Scot McKnight - to of the leading scholars in Jesus studies - have put together an excellent anthology of historical Jesus research in The Historical Jesus in Recent Research.
It is no mystery that their has been an ocean of ink spilled over the Jesus of history. What began as a branch of theology has become a highly specialized field in its own right. Dunn and McKnight's intent was to carve a path for new students to become intimated to the field. To present a representative collection of Jesus scholarship in the last century that prepared students for further study and familiarized them with the noteworthy trends. Without a doubt, they have accomplished that task. For that they are to be commended.
They divided the book into seven parts, each with a brief introduction by either Dunn or McKnight: (1) Classic Voices, (2) Methodology, (3) Teaching of Jesus, (4) Jesus: Who Was He?, (5) Jesus: Major Events, (6) Jesus and Others, and (7) Conclusion.
The strength of this anthology is its provision of famous, though, now antiquated voices, coupled with recent, more accepted scholarship. The reader will get a taste of the significant contributors of the past, such as excerpts from Schweitzer, Bultmann, Kummel, etc., as well as familiarity with current research trends. For example, contributions are provided from Amy Jill-Levine, Peter Stuhlmacher, Gerd Theissen and Richard Horsley.
In my estimation, Dunn and McKnight balance the excerpts well. They provide a helpful amount of historic contributions, notably, a great representative contribution from Bultmann, however, they do not get bogged down in past voices. They provide enough to show the foundation of modern scholarship, while avoiding an anthology that is dominated by only partially relevant voices. Most of the contributions are from contemporary scholarship, as such, the reader will be equipped to address scholarship today and understand its trends.
The range of the contributors is exemplary of dominant scholarship today. Idiosyncratic voices were ignored and excluded, replaced with the representative players in German, British and North American scholarship.
I must admit that I am a bit biased toward this collection, because I generally share the sentiments of the editors. As such, they may have ignored scholars that others consider most important for an introduction, however, for this semi-Conservative North American, I was pleased.
In summary, Dunn and McKnight accomplish what they set out to do. I would recommend this collection to those who are interested in historical Jesus studies. It is admittedly a large book (nearing 600 pages), however, it is certainly able to be read in piece-meal fashion and need not be overwhelming. Those who are already familiar with Jesus studies will be much more appreciative - where else can you find such a phenomenal collection of the classics (who we so often read about rather than directly from) - yet, even newcomers should appreciate its clarity and extensiveness.
Note: This book was received free of charge in exchange for an honest review from Eisenbrauns press.
James Dunn and Scot McKnight - to of the leading scholars in Jesus studies - have put together an excellent anthology of historical Jesus research in The Historical Jesus in Recent Research.
It is no mystery that their has been an ocean of ink spilled over the Jesus of history. What began as a branch of theology has become a highly specialized field in its own right. Dunn and McKnight's intent was to carve a path for new students to become intimated to the field. To present a representative collection of Jesus scholarship in the last century that prepared students for further study and familiarized them with the noteworthy trends. Without a doubt, they have accomplished that task. For that they are to be commended.
They divided the book into seven parts, each with a brief introduction by either Dunn or McKnight: (1) Classic Voices, (2) Methodology, (3) Teaching of Jesus, (4) Jesus: Who Was He?, (5) Jesus: Major Events, (6) Jesus and Others, and (7) Conclusion.
The strength of this anthology is its provision of famous, though, now antiquated voices, coupled with recent, more accepted scholarship. The reader will get a taste of the significant contributors of the past, such as excerpts from Schweitzer, Bultmann, Kummel, etc., as well as familiarity with current research trends. For example, contributions are provided from Amy Jill-Levine, Peter Stuhlmacher, Gerd Theissen and Richard Horsley.
In my estimation, Dunn and McKnight balance the excerpts well. They provide a helpful amount of historic contributions, notably, a great representative contribution from Bultmann, however, they do not get bogged down in past voices. They provide enough to show the foundation of modern scholarship, while avoiding an anthology that is dominated by only partially relevant voices. Most of the contributions are from contemporary scholarship, as such, the reader will be equipped to address scholarship today and understand its trends.
The range of the contributors is exemplary of dominant scholarship today. Idiosyncratic voices were ignored and excluded, replaced with the representative players in German, British and North American scholarship.
I must admit that I am a bit biased toward this collection, because I generally share the sentiments of the editors. As such, they may have ignored scholars that others consider most important for an introduction, however, for this semi-Conservative North American, I was pleased.
In summary, Dunn and McKnight accomplish what they set out to do. I would recommend this collection to those who are interested in historical Jesus studies. It is admittedly a large book (nearing 600 pages), however, it is certainly able to be read in piece-meal fashion and need not be overwhelming. Those who are already familiar with Jesus studies will be much more appreciative - where else can you find such a phenomenal collection of the classics (who we so often read about rather than directly from) - yet, even newcomers should appreciate its clarity and extensiveness.
Note: This book was received free of charge in exchange for an honest review from Eisenbrauns press.
Displaying 1 of 1 review